st. He would not speak about himself under any
circumstances, and at no time of our acquaintance was he any sort
of a sociable companion. He was very hard upon the sailors under
him, and was much addicted to the use of strong language. I admit
that I was an absolute "muff" in those days, and Jensen was quick
to grasp the fact. He was very fond of schnapps, whilst I hated
the smell of the stuff. Moreover, he was a great smoker, and here
again our tastes differed.

Our preparations in Batavia complete, we next went over to the
islands of the Dutch Archipelago, and engaged forty experienced
Malay divers to accompany us. Jensen was very particular in
selecting the men, each being required to demonstrate his
capabilities before us. The way he tested them prior to actually
engaging them was to make each dive after a bright tin object
thrown into so many fathoms of water. Altogether he spent several
weeks choosing his crew. He had engaged a couple of Malays at
Batavia to help in the work of navigating th